I heard Chuck Hagel may run for President in '08

[Wetzelbill]

What kind of chance do you think he has of getting the GOP nomination? I would say not much given his criticism of Bush in Iraq, but you never know. He's not too bad as far as right-wingers go. Except for his suspect connections to some of the touch-screen voting machine Execs.

[On the Road]

1. McCain and Hagel

will probably not do any better than Lieberman did this election, even if their better candidates. Being a critic of the party usually does not help in the primaries unless the party has very unpopular positions.

[David Dunham]

2. The Christian right and neocons will nominate Hagel or McCain

[FrenchieCat]

6. I agree that

Hagel is a very strong candidate. The Republicans like to win...which is why they do. That's why they like Arnuld so much...the orignal "girlie man" (shaved arms and pits....face lift, etc..)

That's why we Democrats need "strong" contenders. We don't need to nominate "Milktoast" candidates like Bayh, Edwards and M. Warner (just cause they are from the South or the midwest) if they are not going to be strong figures. We need strength in National security... that's what really beat John Kerry!

We need a strong leader in an overall "full-service" package.

We need a moderate who's progressive enough... charismatic and values orientated...but totally strong on National Security ....

Hey, That's General Wesley Clark!

The last time either party had a contender that was not an incumbent or a VP was in 1952. There was a war going on (now we've got two) and General Einsenhower won. Many that's a sign...but this time the General is a Democrat.

Think about it.

[DuaneBidoux]

3. He IS NOT a far right winger...he is a Republican in the tradition of

Republicans...and although I might get totally flamed to a crisp on this, someone like that might stand a better chance of my vote than Kerry. And my reasoning IS logical. He would unify mod Dems and mod Repubs, and if he could achieve anything it would be stopping the Christofascists-which for me now, is the number one threat this country faces, bare none.

[DuaneBidoux]

4. Or correct me if I'm wrong...Is he a Christofascist?

[JohnKleeb]

7. he's not a darling of the christian right but he's not exactly pro gay

either. I myself like and respect Hagel but against Kerry and just about any dem, I'd go with the dem.

[RafterMan]

8. Last time I checked

he had a 100% rating from the Christian Coalition.

But that does *not* make him a Christofascist.

[DuaneBidoux]

12. Maybe not to you but to me (the original poster to which you are

responding) it spells: CHRISTOFASCIST. And I stand humbly corrected.

Fuck him.

[jefferson_dem]

15. In my view, he's one of the least distasteful repukes out there.

That being said, he'll never ever win the party nomination. Too indepdendent. He's a bit out of the lock-step cadence they demand.

[Hippo_Tron]

9. He may not be a Christofascist but I don't care for his positions on...

Well most things, really. He's a conservative (moderate as he may be), I'm a liberal. I'd pick the dem who is certainly more likely to be liberal. Not to mention the fact that Hagel will have to have some sense of loyalty to the Christofascists in his party to stay in power.

[LSparkle]

5. If the Christianists are still in control of the GOP

It'll probably be somebody beige like Bill Frist.

[Hippo_Tron]

10. Why bother with Frist? they should just go all the way and pick Santorum

Santorum and DeLay are my two favorite Republican politicians. Santorum embodies the insanity of the Chistian right, DeLay embodies the influence that huge corporations have over the GOP. Together they bring out the TRUE nature of the Republican Party.

[DuaneBidoux]

16. Yea' that's why I was up there bargaining for Hagel

Jesus...the alternatives are god awful. Maybe Hagel is no better. But I've believed (perhaps incorrectly) that there is not a way to stop the stacking of the Christofascists judges without alliances with moderate Republicans (who I believe to be terrified of the Christofascists). In this way I think we have to set priorities and do strategy. It may be that with moderates we have to compromise to temporarily stop what is in essence a fascist agenda. There IS such a thing as the lesser of two evils.

[Hippo_Tron]

20. Are you suggesting that a democrat can't win?

So we have to settle for a moderate Republican?

[DuaneBidoux]

29. No, not suggesting a Democrat can't win

I'm suggesting that we might have to settle for (or at least consider) short term alliances with people who share only one belief with us: fear of the extreme right.

[DuaneBidoux]

13. My word is Christofascist

[WI_DEM]

11. Hagel would be the toughest potential candidate, imo

[DuaneBidoux]

14. OKAY But...

If we can't get the country going progressive again don't you think we could at least, in the interim, stop it from moving further right with him?

I'm truly (now becoming) terrified of the continued rightward movement. At this point I will consider any move to hold it stationary until a better generation comes to power.

[PATRICK]

17. Mutual Blackmail

He KNOWS about the e-voting fraud system and won't need one of those backroom vetting meetings. Indeed he can pressure for a chance at least to get his finger on the button. They OWE him? maybe he thinks he can do better than Bush and make things right a bit. Who wouldn't?

Cynical bastard is where he is because his Dominionist ES &S voting machine company counted his ballots in his first "surprise" election victory.

Traitor of the first and highest order. All the scum is lining the bathtub now.

[Slit Skirt]

30. amen.........

more voter fraud in 2008

[President Jesus]

18. you can book that...he's going to run

He'd be a tough one to beat. He's not the brightest bulb, but when has that ever mattered in that party?

I don't see him getting the religitards all excited like dubya does, and that will likely be his (and the GOP's) downfall.

At least 3 'moderate' pukes will be vying for the same vote: Rudy, Hagel, and McCain. The right will likely run Owens, maybe Dobson (i hope i hope). I'm fully anticipating a contentious 2008 GOP primary , because the current coalition they have is untenable as I see it.

[Yupster]

28. If Bush was smart, he'd

replace Cheney half way through his term and annoint an heir apparent.

Of course you could start a lot of sentences with "If Bush was smart."

[Eloriel]

19. SUSPECT Connections? Oh dear.

"If you want to win an election, just control the voting machines"

By Thom Hartmann
http://www.onlinejournal.com/evoting/020603Hartmann/020603hartmann.html

snip


The respected Washington, DC, publication 11 has confirmed that former conservative radio talk-show host and now Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel was the head of, and continues to own part interest in, the company that owns the company that installed, programmed, and largely ran the voting machines that were used by most of the citizens of Nebraska.

Back when Hagel first ran there for the U.S. Senate in 1996, his company's computer-controlled voting machines showed he'd won stunning upsets in both the primaries and the general election. The Washington Post (1/13/1997) said Hagel's "Senate victory against an incumbent Democratic governor was the major Republican upset in the November election." According to Bev Harris of www.blackboxvoting.com, Hagel won virtually every demographic group, including many largely Black communities that had never before voted Republican. Hagel was the first Republican in 24 years to win a Senate seat in Nebraska.

Six years later Hagel ran again, this time against Democrat Charlie Matulka in 2002, and won in a landslide. As his hagel.senate.gov website says, Hagel "was re-elected to his second term in the United States Senate on November 5, 2002, with 83 percent of the vote. That represents the biggest political victory in the history of Nebraska."

What Hagel's website fails to disclose is that about 80 percent of those votes were counted by computer-controlled voting machines put in place by the company affiliated with Hagel. Built by that company. Programmed by that company.

[NEDem]

21. I'm a Nebraska Liberal, which I guess makes me a moderate

to most, and I'll have a hard time deciding who to vote for if Hagel gets the nomination. He's a moderate republican, in the traditional republican sense and frankly I've grown to respect him more and more. He's not a fundie, and in all honesty I don't think the fundies would support him much.

As for all the BBV connections, let it go. Nobody with any credibility here, in his home state, believes any of this, and the conspiracy crap makes the dems look, well.... sorta stupid. If there were any truth to it, it would have been uncovered by now.

I don't think he has a chance of making it through the primaries, nothing is impossible, but I'd say his chances are pretty close to that.

In a heads up Hagel vs. Clark, I'd go with Clark, but I don't see many others in the field that look that promising.

[CityDem]

22. Hagel doesn't stand a chance

1. He has been antagonistic toward AWOL and therefore, will not play well with the party elites. GWB holds a grudge and Hagel did not lick AWOL's boots like McCain did in 2004.

2. He is a from Nebraska - no large base of constituents.

3. He is not conservative enough to please the Bob Jones wing of the repub party who select the nominee.

4. He is a US Senator -- see John Kerry.

[robbedvoter]

23. Great! The ES&S vs Diebold election! Who will win?

[nolabels]

26. He He

:D

[Donna Zen]

24. Pubs expand their image:

The repubs accepted a pro-choice, pro-affirmative action general, a pro-choice, pro-affirmative action body builder, and didn't blink an eye. They never even questioned their credentials, nor did they ever refer to Powell as a Democrat because he had been unaffiliated while he was in the service.

Why?

Because they want to win!

Right now as I am typing this, you can find many posts rejecting candidates because of stupid litmus tests which make NO sense. Why?

Hegel is well liked. The only thing that will stop him is $$$$$$$. The bush evil empire controls the main purse strings. But if they decide that Hegel can win...well, that would be it.

Personally, I think it will Frist. We will know long before the primaries: see who takes Cheney's place mid-term.

[LiberalAndProud]

25. Slim. Nebraskans don't make it past the primaries.

[fujiyama]

27. I don't see him winning the primaries

but he would be a tough candidate to beat. Even if he doesn't do quite as well as Bush among the fundies, he and McCain would do well among independants and moderates.

I've heard him on occassion and he was actually a pretty effective credit of the administration.

I also remember him defending Kerry from some of the earlier attacks regarding his ability to be commander in chief.

[TheWebHead]

31. '08 may be the election of the moderates

seems like a likely theme with the cast of hopefuls for '08 on both sides.. you run someone like Warner or Bayh against Hagel, Pataki, or McCain, the theme of "it doesn't matter who wins" will be the mantra I'm guessing.

[salin]

32. none

he has questioned, allowed, the boyking - one too many times. Especially damaging to him among bushie loyalists (and their media sycophants) has been his criticism of the war (planning, intelligence, etc.) For him to run strong in the primaries - would be akin to admitting the abject failure of bushco. Given how they rewrite history - and are able to sell the public on the rewrite... even if the economy tanks, we institute the draft, and close down all the universities - their will be a myth created to explain it and no dissenting views will be allowed to let the truth of this reign of treachory to be let out of the bottle.